As commenters pointed out it was a raccoon that appeared to have a rare birth defect, she gave it its nickname.<\/p>\n
“For our 13th anniversary, [we] were graced with the presence of Jimothy the raccoon with short spine syndrome. Praise Jimothy!!” she wrote.<\/p>\n
Ms Hall, 33, later confirmed there was no particular reason she had chosen that name \u2014 it “just looked like a Jimothy”.<\/p>\n
After her video went viral, other Seattle residents began sharing videos they had previously captured of Jimothy, including a clip of him raiding a balcony<\/a> and footage of him with his family<\/a> when he was younger.<\/p>\n A Jimothy subreddit<\/a> has been established, where users post Jimothy-inspired art, including at least one tattoo<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Seattle Mariners baseball team also used footage of Jimothy to encourage cheering<\/a> from the crowd on Friday.<\/p>\n Jimothy appears in a fan’s backyard, in the days before his viral stardom. (Supplied: myballard.com)<\/p>\n While Jimothy has not been formally diagnosed with any condition, the consensus is he likely has short spine syndrome, an ultra-rare congenital deformity that mostly affects dogs and cats.<\/p>\n Sometimes caused by inbreeding, the condition causes an animal’s vertebrae to fuse together early in fetal development, severely shortening the spine and leaving it unable to turn its head left or right.<\/p>\n Short spine syndrome can cause a range of complications, but Jimothy seems to be coping well, according to wildlife experts.<\/p>\n Marcie Logsdon, an associate professor at Washington State University’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital, told The Seattle Times<\/a> the fact the raccoon seemed “very spry” and energetic was an excellent sign for his survival in the wild.<\/p>\n “I was surprised and honestly a little bit inspired that he’s that resilient,”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n she said.![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/45502755d61774873767a27453735cba.jpeg\")
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